Canterlot Academy Trials

A massive explosion overtook the surrounding area, consuming everything within the prestigious dining hall as it collapsed in on itself from the sheer excess of power being released from Bonetail’s body once the souls had escaped.

“...ABRAXAS!” Geki screamed upon seeing the wreckage of the building, and quickly sprinted over to try and find him through the series of wooden planks and stones that had piled up after the explosion. “Where are you?! Boy you better not die on me, y-you hear?!” she cried out for him as she rummaged through the destroyed building.

Thankfully, she wouldn’t have to wait for too long.

“...god…” Abraxas had come to nearby, and scratched the back of his head with his left hand. “...that was more painful than I expected. Ma’am, I’m over here…”

Geki noticed him, and ran over to tackle him with a hug as she sobbed. “...Abra…what the hell…why did you do that, boy?!” When she opened her eyes, she gasped, and noticed something wrong with the right side of his body. “...your arm!”

As a result of reaching in and tearing out the souls that kept Bonetail’s body together, Abraxas’ right arm had been blown clean off. All that remained was a small stump that extended just a few inches from his shoulder.

“...” Abraxas noticed this and tried to put on a brave face, “...’tis but a scratch…”

And then he immediately passed out and fell silent on the ground….

A few hours later…

In the aftermath that followed, Abraxas was brought to the local medical tent where his arm was treated and bandaged up. Soon enough, Dengeki would arrive to check on him.

“...are you alright, son?”

“I’m fine…” he muttered as he forced a smile on his face, “But I could really use a hand, I think.”

Geki rolled her eyes and did her best to hold back a grin. “Don’t…don’t try and get funny with me. What you did was completely foolish…and I’m grateful for it. I don’t know what would’ve happened had it not been for you being there, Abra.”

The big lizardman sighed and looked at his missing arm. “Well…I’d rather be down a limb than be down a leader. Not to mention all of those kiddos that arrived here. It wouldn’t have sit right with me if I let them down.” He blinked, and realized something important. “...speaking of which…what happened to Escala? Is she still around?”

“You could say that…” Geki reached into a nearby potato sack and tossed out the kobold woman’s decapitated head. “She’s not gonna be giving us anymore trouble ever since we put her through the guillotine.”

“...yikes,” Abra let out a shrill whistle as he watched Geki put the head back in the bag, “You weren’t playing around. I admire that about you ma’am. Now, where are those kids?”

“They’ve actually been--”

Blue peeked into the medical tent. “Hey…is everything okay?”

“Of course,” Geki replied, “Come on in. I’m curious though, what happened to your pegasus friend?”

“It’s a long story,” Mei added as she walked in with Blue. “Nebula and Grimrose are currently back at the ship talking it over. He asked us to make sure everything was okay back here regarding the state of your homeland.”

“Yeah…I don’t think we’ll be exporting anything for a while,” Geki explained, “We need to take some time to rebuild this place for our own people, rather than selling out to foreigners.” She glanced over at Abra and continued, “...and I think I’ll need a bit of help getting it done.”

Abraxas smiled and replied, “Of course, ma’am. As soon as I’m healed, I’ll be right with you.”

“Hey I think I know of a way we can get that arm fixed,” Mei spoke up, catching the attention of everyone in the tent.

“...you can??” Abra replied, “How exactly?”

“...kirin magic is a tricky thing. Let’s just say I know a guy.”

Back on Marrow’s ship…

Grimrose, now in her krampus like form with pegasus wings sat on the dock of the Kobold Canyon port as she watched the sunrise. Nebula was right there next to her, with a hoof around her shoulder. The two sat in silence for a while, but the stallion would eventually break it.

“...you know I still love you, right?”

“Y-yes…of course, Atomic….” she replied with a nervous wag of her tail, “I’m just…I’m sorry I kept this from you for so long. I didn’t know how to explain it to you when we first met.”

“Pfft,” he scoffed, “I don’t care about your genetics. I care about you, Rose. That’s all that really matters to me.”

“I…” she smiled and looked away, “...you’re too good to me, Atomic.”

“I know,” he replied snappily, “It’s one of my best traits. All joking aside, as your soulmate and your leader, it’s my job. And I won’t ever hold back on that. Trust me, Rose.”

Nebula’s words put her at ease. She scooped the stallion up in her arms for a hug. “Thank you…though now I’m simply concerned with whether or not my father will accept you. My family isn’t exactly well off and he’s been looking to marry me off to some other noble for more money…”

Nebula nuzzled into her neck, enjoying the softness of her goat fur. “...mmm…don’t worry about that. I’ve already got something in mind your father won’t resist.”